Nation: THE MEN WHO WILL RUN THE U.S.

On Capitol Hill Melvin Laird has long borne the aura of power, carefully
contained but ready for instant application. His close-cropped skull
and impassive features give him the forbidding countenance of a
Japanese war lord. His steely mind and stinging tongue deepen the
impression of a political samurai. Though he is in fact one of the
nation's wiliest politicians, in private life he is a puckish,
convivial figure.

Laird still lives in his Marshfield, Wis., birthplace, and the rockbed
Republican Seventh District there gave him 64% of the vote in November.
In...